The back side of the ceiling

Up a narrow set of stairs…almost like a ladder…is the place almost no one ever gets to see. It’s above the decorative ceiling that glows over the patrons of the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, and it’s a little peek behind the magic that is the interior of this beautiful, historic building. Hot lights in red, yellow and blue pump out the colors that mix to become the glow the audience sees below, and though the ceiling looks like something solid from below, it is backed by air and light and heat, and held up by a network of cables. It’s always crazy to agree to private tours of anywhere at a time of night much more suited to the weekend than the weeknight, but with payoffs like this, who would want to miss the reward of being a person of yes?